Figure Sketches - Faces

I enjoy playing around with figures in my sketchbook. Here are a few recent ones. The smiling face above was very difficult, but it came out well.

Garden of the Gods painting Finished

I am very happy with many parts of this painting. The mid-ground with the sage green hills and the red rocks came out very well. The contrast in values and colors are both working to make the red rocks stand out. I added a lot of flowers to the foreground than were in the photo. It is a very active painting full of motion